Lynas Argument Essay

Lynas’ text argues for intentional geoengineering of the climate, which is defined as the premeditated large-scale interference in global natural systems to counter anthropogenic climate change (Oxford Geoengineering Programme, 2017). Through analysis of the text, two separate arguments can be isolated. One line of argument uses evidence of our own “unintelligent” impact on the environment as justification for intelligent geoengineering. The more specific example is his use of evidence that suggests sulphate aerosols from coal power plants reduce the impacts of climate change as a justification for placing these aerosols in the stratosphere. This analysis will argue that Lynas’ logical structure is flawed throughout, with some redeeming factors. …show more content…
From this, he deduces that not geoengineering is not an option because we already do it and that because our unintelligent geoengineering has a net negative effect on the planet that we intelligently geoengineer the planet. One major flaw undermines this argument. Lynas’ equivocates the definition of geoengineering to mean any anthropogenic alteration of global environmental processes, whether the effects of said alterations are negative or positive. This is a blatant fallacy, as it geoengineering’s definition only includes intervening with natural processes to halt climate change. The examples that Lynas gives do not fall under this definition, so he can’t reasonably argue that because we already do it unintentionally that we should do it